Korean mothers' KakaoStory use and its relationship to psychological well-being

This study investigates the relationship between life contexts, SNS use, and psychological well-being, by focusing on Korean mothers' interactions on a popular social network site (SNS), KakaoStory. Through analysis of survey and interview data, we find (1) a positive relationship between KakaoStory use and mothers' perceptions of positive relations with others (a construct of psychological well-being), but no relationship with overall life satisfaction; (2) employment status is an important contextual factor that influences Korean mothers' social connections, KakaoStory use, and psychological well-being; and, (3) working mothers lack opportunities for socialization and report lower levels of positive relations with others compared to stay-at-home mothers, when controlling for reported self-esteem. By analyzing these relationships, this study sheds light on the important role contextual factors play in determining women's use of social media and unpacks the effect of social media use on different dimensions of psychological well-being.